Let's Play a Game
by xCherryCakes
Summary: First one who falls in love, loses. - - - Will it be Hermione or Draco? / Quite a slow beginning, but if you keep reading i guarantee it gets better.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

*Set takes place during the 4th book/movie with the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Few minor tweaks & ideas added to the story.

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

_Let's Play a Game... Not just any game… Let's flirt recklessly during class. Let's sit together at the same table during lunch. Let's break the rules; meeting each other after 12 midnight. Let's wander around Hogsmeade your hand in mine. Let's sit in the darkest corner of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, your arms around my waist snogging till were gasping for air. Whoever falls in love first, __**loses**__._

* * *

><p>"Wh-Why would he do this to me?" Lavender sobbed blowing a handful of snot into her handkerchief. "I gave him the best summer of his life…"<p>

"Oh Lavender… Stop crying over a bloody prat like him. You deserve better." Ginny advised while comforting the sobbing girl sitting on the red velvet couch in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I heard he tried to snog with Cho Chang the minute we all got off the train." Parvati pointed out clearly making the situation worse than it already is. "She slapped him hard, yet he didn't care one bit."

"Oh, really?" Ginny questioned her face turning green. "I saw him asking Pansy Parkinson to take him back when we got into the building."

Lavender stopped for a mere second eying Ginny and Parvati back and forth before letting out a loud cry. Hermione rolled her eyes trying to concentrate on reading her book. It irritated her how the first topic being brought up from their long summer vacation was _Draco Malfoy_. The girls went on and on about how many hearts he has broken since they entered Hogwarts; 17 at the moment, the list still being poured out. Hermione started to bite on her right index fingernail still trying to concentrate on reading her book. The girls continued. 18… 19… 20…

"Oh, Shut up!" she finally snapped. "I take no interest in hearing news about Draco's love life!"

The room became quiet, only Lavender's inaudible sobs were being heard.

"Someone should teach him a lesson." Ginny finally blurted out; a look of revenge on her face.

Parvati agreed without hesitation. "Someone should make him feel like… like how Lavender feels right now!"

The room fell silent again, the girls thinking of a way to make Lavender feel better. Hermione then returned to her book, assuming that the girls were just going to babble about nonsense.

"We should get him too…" Ginny paused for a moment. "Too… fall in love with someone…" Ginny paused again. "Then we should get that girl to dump him harsh. REAL HARSH!"

"That's a brilliant idea!"

"…But all we need now is that lucky girl to do such a thing."

Ginny and Parvati eyed each other while thinking of the perfect girl to pull this off smooth and cunningly. It had to be a girl who hated him enough to not even fall for his charms... someone who wouldn't care about hurting his feelings at all… someone who would love to hurt him the most…

The girls then nodded their heads at each other showing that they knew the perfect candidate for this job. They both turned to Hermione who instantly felt their eyes burning on her face from behind her book. She stared at them wondering if they needed her smarts to help brainstorm the perfect girl. She stared at them curiously wondering why they would give her such a look. She let out a sigh closing the book. If she helped them now, they'd leave her later right?

"What..?" she finally asked.

* * *

><p>Draco sat down in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room all eyes on him. He smirked knowing what was going to be asked to him as he made himself comfortable on the black leather couch.<p>

"What'd you do with Lavender?" Blaine Zabini winked sitting next to him. "Did you get any..?"

Draco let out a smirk. "Never. That filthy Gryffindor girl doesn't even know how to snog properly. I had to tell her what she was doing wrong the whole time."

"Ouch. That's a little harsh don't you think?"

Draco let out a laugh. "If no guy tells her about her sloppy kissing habits, then I certainly would."

Zabini and the other Slytherin roommates laughed along with Draco.

"So who's next on the list?" Zabini asked looking at him in curiosity.

"Pansy Parkinson…" Draco trailed off knowing that his roommates were expecting someone better.

"No way." Terrence Higgs shrugged sitting on the couch adjacent to where Draco was. "You should try someone new…"

"Yeah… its way more interesting when it's someone belonging to the other three houses on campus." Zabini agreed. "And its way better when it's someone you least expect.

"Someone like… that filthy mudblood Granger?" Draco joked letting out another laugh. He would never try getting with a mudblood. He would be caught dead if he was ever seen with one. Actually he wouldn't even be caught with one period.

"Dude… That's a brilliant idea! You should so try getting with Hermione."

"As if!" Draco objected. "I'd never be caught dead with a mudblood."

"I dare you too." Zabini smirked giving him another wink.

They all started to chant "Mudblood" repeatedly till Draco would accept this bet. He couldn't turn his peers down. They would think that he was a total wuss.

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"My sister."

Without any hesitations, Zabini put his sister on the line. Draco couldn't object an offer like that. He thought Zabini's sister was the hottest girl he's ever come across after meeting her in Hogsmeade. She was off limits to him as Zabini would kill him if he ever laid his hands on her. Even staring at her was prohibited. He couldn't turn down that offer at all. It was his only chance to finally get to know her.

"Alright." He said, smirking. "Deal… and no calling this dare off."


	2. Chapter 2: Ditching Parkinson

**Chapter 2: Ditching Parkinson**

**D r a c o M a l f o y**

The wind whistled softly through the empty courtyard; a few leaves being carried by its movement. A crisp brown leaf gently made its way onto the empty palm being faced up to the half cloudy sky. A sigh left Draco's mouth as he stared at the fallen leaf before crunching it into smaller bits then letting it fall to the ground. He stared at the Slytherin girl beside him, her curious eyes eager to hear his news.

"Well…" he finally said. "It was a mistake asking you to take me back."

A short silence filled their surroundings as the air grew thicker around them; the sun's ray no longer being able to shine its way through the clouds. Draco stared at the ground waiting for a reply. Even if it's only been five day's since they got back together, he dreaded having to break a girl's heart. Not because of leaving the girl heartbroken, only because of their emotional breakdowns and their dramatic reactions. Why couldn't they be as manly as boys?

"I'll be going then." He said coldly breaking the silence. He stood up from the cemented bench turning to head back in.

Pansy's eyes grew faint as she reached out, her hand trembling to grab him by his shoulder. "What? Why? What did I do?" she asked wearily.

He rolled his eyes pushing her arm off his shoulder. He slightly turned his head letting out a smirk. "I have a reputation to maintain. Someone like you would bring it down. I was so stupid thinking that you can help me maintain that rep when you would obviously destroy it."

"But I'm the head girl of the Slytherin house." She paused. "We're perfect for each other…"

He let out a laugh and started to walk back into the building. "Pathetic." He scoffed leaving the girl to cry at her will. Draco didn't care for how harshly he decided to break it to her. It was the only way to get the bloody girl to leave him alone. Besides, _the only thing on his mind now was to make Granger fall for him and after that Zabini's sister was all his._

Draco looked up, a sinister smile creeping upon his face. _What better way to start when Granger was right there in front of him?_


	3. Chapter 3: Narcisstic Prince

**Chapter 3: Narcissistic Prince**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r**

"It's him!" Ron whispered ecstatically. "It's Viktor Krum!"

The whole room stared at the famous Bulgarian Quidditch player in amazement. Durmstrang Institute being the last school to enter the room, Hermione eyed him as he walked through the dining hall. She stared at his broad shoulders and his perfectly chiselled facial features. His serious facial expression made him more attractive.

"He's quite dashing don't you think?" Ginny whispered beside her.

"Yeah." She agreed. The two girls giggled as half of the ladies in the room ogled him.

"Be right back." Hermione whispered. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay." Ginny replied probably not hearing what Hermione just said. She was too busy being hypnotized by the Quidditch king.

Hermione slipped out of her seat and tiptoed out the door taking the long way to the toilet. Her mates have finally stopped chasing after her to take part in Ginny's revenge plan. After telling them no repetitively, they finally got the message, and she would now finally be able to go to the library and read a book in peace. Maybe a quick trip to the library to checkout some books would help her catch up on her reading. She lifted her wrist to check the time on her watch; 25 more minutes till her class starts.

"Hmm… maybe a few books on Potions." She thought.

She skipped through the hall looking at the courtyard. It looked beautiful outside. Not too hot. Not too cold. The sun slightly gleaming through the clouds looked beautiful as its sunrays tried to break through the barrier of the billows.

"But I'm the head girl of the Slytherin house… We're perfect for each other." A voice came out.

Hermione stopped to hide behind a pillar slightly bobbing her head out to see who that was. She squinted, her eyes finding Pansy Parkinson crying behind Draco Malfoy.

"Pathetic…" Draco replied before disappearing back into the school.

Hermione clenched her fist after hearing an insensitive reply. She didn't like Pansy Parkinson at all. In fact you can say that she hated her as much as she hated Draco, but even she shouldn't deserve being told off in a harsh way. She stared at the girl breaking down into tears, her sleeves slowly being drenched in her fluids.

"You know, it's not polite to eavesdrop on a private conversation."

She turned her head to see Draco standing before her. His face looking confident as ever and his lips forming that smirk he makes probably a thousand times a day. It's like he instantly forgotten about the girl crying out in the courtyard.

She rolled her eyes at Draco. "How could you do that?" she asked. "That's so rude. If you wanted to break up with her, you could have at least done it in a sensitive way!"

"Whoa, calm down Granger. There's not enough time in this world for me to go with the same girls over and over again." He walked over to Hermione putting his arm around her. "Shall we walk back to the dining hall together?"

She shrugged his arm off of her and slapped him right across his face. "You egotistic jerk!" she yelled out. "You think you can have any girl you want? You're wrong! I would never go for a boy like you! Gosh! You're such a Narcissistic Prince!"

She stomped away from him taking a quick glance at Pansy. The crying girl certainly heard everything she said. Hermione clenched her fists tighter. After seeing Draco's way with girls, she finally understood why they all wanted to get revenge on him. _She certainly wanted to get revenge on him now too and Ginny's plan was the perfect way to get back at him._

* * *

><p>"Hermione, you have to get this right. You can't stop hitting him every time he says something arrogant." Ginny advised.<p>

"Okay, I'm sorry." Hermione replied. "He's just a bloody idiot." Hermione regretted changing her mind to go with the plan. She shouldn't have made a decision when she was mad.

Ever since she accepted the plan, a few girls from the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses would meet every day two hours before class would start in the most discreet part of the library to advise Hermione on how she should deal with Draco. Two weeks have passed, and so far their progress with the plan was quite slow. On the bright side, Draco would attempt having a conversation with her at least three times a day. No one had a clue to as why Draco would try conversing with Hermione, but none of them decided to question it either.

"Well… Let's just go over the rules again, and hopefully they can get into that shrewd head of yours."

**The Rules to Dating a Narcissistic Prince**

_1. __Take Charge: He likes a girl who is dominant._

_2. __Play hard to get: He loves a challenge._

_3. __Be aloof: Cool and distant._****

**_4. _****_Always leave him wanting more._**

_5. __Breaking the school rules: sometimes you have too._

**_6. _****_NEVER trust a word he says._**

So far, there were only six rules, but the girls were still trying to gather information to make this plan full proof.

"You should probably add _"No hitting, slapping or back talking"_ till she gets him." Cho Chang teased.

They all started to laugh at her little joke as Ginny decided to write it down. Hermione rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her chest. The thought of dating Draco was revolting and against her morals. What would Ron and Harry say if they caught her flirting with a Slytherin boy during class time? Ginny forbid her to tell Ron and Harry about their plan, yet she allowed Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, and Padma Patil into their circle of trust.

"Here's your chance Hermione. Don't mess up." Lavender said leaning back in her chair seeing Draco at the entrance. She seemed to look bedazzled and excited to know that Draco was in the room. _It wasn't a 'yes! I finally get to see this plan in motion', but it was more of an 'it's the boy I like or in this case still like'?_

Hermione took a moment to collect her thoughts. She puked a little in her mouth as thoughts of dating Draco lingered her mind again. There was no turning back now. She already tried that. Even if she tried to work her way out of it, all of the girls would remind her of how she promised not to back out. Again, she seriously had to stop making promises and choices when she was mad.

She took a deep breath before standing up from her seat. On the bright side, she was now used to actually having to speak with him.

_She finally stood up and decided to head towards the door._

"Good luck!" Ginny whispered. "And remember the rules!"

Hermione walked her way over to the blonde haired boy who was picking up a few books from the counter. She felt like she was going to take a final exam, unprepared as each step she took towards him left her forgetting each rule one by one. Hermione stood there in front of him watching him sign a few pages of parchment paper for their librarian Poppy Pomfrey. Hermione took the first book she saw on the counter flipping through the pages randomly turning around to see her friends analyzing her every move.

"Say something." Ginny mouthed as the girl's giggled behind her clearly finding it amusing that Hermione was most likely going to embarrass herself.

"Wow Granger. You must be quite a smart one if you're able to read a book upside down."

Hermione turned around her face turning red realizing that she's been holding her book the wrong way up. Ms. Pomfrey seemed to disappear into her office to process Draco's papers. She now wished that she was back in her room reading a book or sharing memories with Harry and Ron beside the fireplace instead.

"Errr… Uhh… I-I…" Hermione stuttered seeing Draco placing a smirk on his pale face.

"I'm pretty sure you don't read erotic stories either." Draco winked at her taking the book off her hands, brushing his fingers against hers and setting it back down on the counter. He was enjoying every moment of making her squirm. "We can make one of our own you know…"

Hermione's face was bright red in embarrassment now seeing that she did manage to pick up Ms. Pomfrey's book. It couldn't be a part of their school either as such books are forbidden to be read by the students. She clenched her fists as tight as she could, her veins popping out and fingernails burying deep into her skin.

"Relax Granger…" Draco laughed. "I'm just playing with you. If you wanted to talk to me you could have just said hi."

"Err… Well… Hey there…" Hermione managed to say. She was feeling a little too out of her comfort zone. She kept telling herself to keep and calm and just to relax. The little hairs on her neck were starting to stand up from her discomfort.

"Wow… You would have hit me by now…" Draco raised an eyebrow a surprised look on his face seeing that Hermione wasn't going to rebuttal or smash him.

It's not that she didn't want to hit him or anything. It was the fact that all her friends were behind her watching her every move. She didn't want to disappoint them.

"I'd like to say sorry for that…" Hermione gritted through her teeth trying to pull off a lie, but her body language was doing no good.

Draco let out another smirk. "Well then, you should make it up to me by letting me take you out on a date."

Hermione relaxed a little, her popping veins seeping down back to where they were supposed to be. She broke all the rules, and yet it was that simple to get a date from him? Of course she forgot that Draco probably had a list somewhere of girl's he still had to date. Was a mudblood really a part of that list?

"Okay." She replied forcing to curve her lips into a smile. "When?"

"Madam Puddifoot's Teashop… I shall meet you hear at 5pm Saturday." He smiled slowly turning to head out the door.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief, her first satisfying conversation with Draco being over. She uncurled her hands staring at Draco as he made his way out of the room. Her tense posture finally made its way back to its relaxed and laidback form.

Draco quickly turned around staring back at Hermione. "You should smile more Granger. It suits you very well." He gave her a final wink before leaving.


	4. Chapter 4: Ghastly Scarves & Toupee's

**Chapter 4: Ghastly Scarves & Toupee's**

**D r a c o M a l f o y**

This probably had to be the most awkward date Draco has ever been on. He felt like an idiot taking his dare to public on a day out to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop. 37 minutes in the shop and not a single word or eye contact being exchanged between the two Hogwarts students. Why was Zabini's sister so alluring and seductive? He should have known that taking Hermione to a private place like the library or the forbidden forest would have suited her needs better. That way she'd be reading or learning something. A few days ago when he asked her to go out for tea, Hermione couldn't stop stuttering and choking on her words. Taking her to a place she truly desired would have scored him some extra points.

Terrence Higgs also suggested Draco to lay off of the ridicule comments and to stop calling her a mudblood. Well his exact words were "Be more like a Ron… or maybe a Harry… so stop mocking her blood and family, and start acting sweet." Draco would never stoop low as to trying to act like Weasley or Potter, although acting sweet couldn't be too hard.

He stared at the bushy haired girl sitting across from him as she fiddled around with her spoon avoiding making eye contact with him whatsoever. He had no clue what to say as he realized during those past two weeks of agony that his "brash" pick-up-lines and "discourteous" comments would send him three steps backwards. A short sigh left his mouth as he leaned back against his seat stirring his cup of tea in a synchronized motion with Hermione. He glanced around the room looking for something more entertaining too look at to pass the time. He stared at the darkest corner of the teashop recognizing something he's been seeing back at Hogwarts. It was Blaine's ghastly green scarf. There would never be a replica of such a monstrous scarf anywhere in the wizarding world. It looked like it was made out of weeds from an abandoned garden. Draco squinted his eyes finding Blaine Zabini and Terrence Higgs attempting to hide behind "The Daily Prophet." He knew that it couldn't be anyone but him.

"So…" Hermione finally said, "Looking for someone?" She attempted to turn around to see who Draco was looking at. He reached his arm out touching her shoulder giving her the "Don't look" expression.

"Another girl?" she asked.

_He wished it was another girl._ He never had to think so hard in his entire life to find the right words without being mauled in the head. He was used to being slapped, but Hermione was way more vicious than any of the other girls. Any choice of words he'd say would usually have girls falling all over him in an instant. He had to win this bet or face being teased by Zabini for the rest of his life. A mudblood was part of this bloody dare too. He couldn't let Zabini get the best of him. He was just a few steps away from actually getting what he most anticipated. The fact that his date wasn't going as well as he hoped it too be, Zabini would certainly still have the time to mock Draco about it.

Draco started to fiddle with the napkin in front of him attempting to remove any deranged comments from his vocabulary. He decided to tell the truth instead of trying to create a lie to make him look so cool.

"No," he answered. "It appears that Blaine and Terrence have decided to follow us out here to see how well our date would go."

"Oh… I know what you mean." Hermione paused. "Ginny can't pull off a toupee." She slightly lifted her index finger pointing to her right while using her other hand to mask away the giggles leaving her mouth.

Draco turned to his right seeing Ginny three tables over sitting with Lavender whose disguise was just a top hat being matched off with a monocle. It was like they were a few weeks early for Halloween. He looked at Hermione attempting to give her a smile while letting out a short chuckle. Ginny did look pretty horrendous trying to pull off the look of a male. She looked like Ron which was pretty awkward. "Want to ditch this place and go somewhere else?"

"What do you have in mind?" Hermione asked putting her hands down.

"Maybe… the library…" he offered.

Hermione let out a laugh. "I'm not sure if that's the kind of place you'd like to go too." She continued laughing.

"It was worth a shot…" That way they'd be in a private place and no one from their school would be there to see them. Draco looked back at Blaine who seemed to be writing something on a piece of parchment paper. He started to wonder if Zabini had an idea to judge and mark him along the way. That would be unfair.

Hermione stood up from her seat offering her hand to Draco "Let's go." She said managing to give him a wink.

Draco was stunned for a moment staring at the girl in front of him. He never knew Hermione would be the type to give anyone a wink. He didn't even know that she was the type to take the lead. Maybe their date wouldn't be such a dud after all.

Hermione grabbed his hand gripping it quite hard and ran for the door. Draco shook his head following her footsteps trying to keep up with her pace. For a girl, she ran pretty fast. He turned around to see Terrence and Zabini trying to catch up to them. He knew that they were up to no good. They made it so obvious that they wanted to spy on him during his date. Hermione looking back ran faster squeezing Draco's hand taking a few twist and turns around the neighbourhood hoping that his friends would get lost in the process. She ran pass a choir taking her wand out from her pocket.

"Aguamenti!" Hermione yelled out, allowing a fountain of water to be shot out of her wand, aiming it at the two Slytherin boys chasing after them.

Terrence eyes that seemed to catch water in them slipped causing Zabini to trip over him. Hermione let out a laugh leading Draco into Honeydukes to catch her breath.

"We finally lost them." She said trying to keep up with her breathing. "At least… I hope we did."

Draco leaned down against the counter staring at Hermione. He was pretty impressed too see that Hermione could manage to get then away from them. She was Hermione after all. He slightly started to understand why Dumbledore would give her recognition for their first three years at Hogwarts.

Draco stood up, his stomach letting out a loud growl. He now wished that he didn't skip lunch to finish writing his overdue essay assignment on the lifespan of a werewolf. He felt his pockets trying to find his wallet and realized that he left it in his other jacket back at Hogwarts.

"Hungry?" Hermione asked picking up a few pieces of Salt Water Taffy. "I only have enough for a few pieces of candy… but it's better than nothing right?"

"Uhm… Thanks. I'll pay you back when we get back to the school…" He gave her a smile.

The two wandered around picking up some Chocolate Wands and Acid Pops along the way. They laughed watching first years being intrigued by the Chocolate Frogs hopping around the store. Hermione took some Liquorice Wands before deciding to pay at the counter.

Draco stared at Hermione chewing on a Liquorice Wand as they walked about the neighbourhood aimlessly, no words being exchanged between them. The silence between them didn't feel awkward at all for him, but at the same time it was something that he wasn't used too. Girls would usually talk nonstop about something trivial or praise him with flattering comments.

Hermione started to walk a little faster, leading Draco a few steps out of Hogsmeade. She took a seat under the nearest tree staring at the fallen leaves around her. The sun was shining across the horizon and the clouds were starting to change into that lovely dull purple like color. Draco stared a little satisfied and amazed by the actions she has taken earlier.

He walked over to the tree taking a seat beside her. "Wow Granger… I never knew you were the type to make such a bold move." He said smirking; obviously referring to the wink she's given him in the Teashop, and the little chase that went around Hogsmeade.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She replied playing with the grass on the ground.

He turned to look at Hermione "I guess another date would allow me to right?"

She turned to look back at him, their faces only two inches apart from each other. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

_Draco stared into her eyes never noticing how brown they really were. For a short moment you can say that he was slightly hypnotized. He felt as if this little dare was starting to become a little more interesting. He was looking forward to having another encounter with her._


	5. Chapter 5: Rule4, Leave Him Wanting More

**Chapter 5: Rule Number 4, Always Leave Him Wanting More**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r **

Hermione looking through each shelf thoroughly in the magical creatures section of the library was trying to gather information on the first event of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"We're off to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop." Ginny said walking away from Hermione with the other girls. "You sure you don't want to come?"

"No it's alright. I'll see you later." She replied still looking for the right book on dragons.

"Alright, Remember to-"

"Yes I know." Hermione interrupted.

Ginny gave her a smile as they all waved Hermione goodbye leaving their designated library spot for the last six weeks. It must have been 20 minutes since they left leaving her to find the book all on her own.

"Where is it?" she asked herself. "I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be in this section…"

"Looking for this?" A voice came from behind her.

She turned around to find Draco holding the book up beside his face giving her a smile.

She smiled back at him quickly trying to process the rules into her brain. "Hey there, I see that you're the one who had it all along."

"It must be fate." He said walking over to her. "Who knew I'd be the one to help you end your search."

She stared at him wondering if he meant more than just finding her desired literature of the hour.

"Well thank you for deciding to return it. You'd usually hide it just to see me run around campus looking for it for your amusement."

He laughed. "We should end this feud between us. Hatred can cause one to look old."

"You're funny." She joked stretching her arm out signalling Draco to hand it over.

Draco quickly took it behind his back causing Hermione to try and take it. He laughed at Hermione struggling to keep her balance as she tried grabbing the book from behind him. "I'll give it to you on one condition."

Hermione stopped to look at him. "What is it?"

"Kiss me." He said a smirk spreading across his face.

Hermione found herself staring at his lips wondering that to do. Ginny never told her what to do if he wanted to snog her. She couldn't say no, and if she did she'd have to say it in a way that would leave him wanting more. Since their first encounter at Hogsmeade, Hermione was actually starting to think that completing this plan would be a piece of cake. Although, she would still find it quite awkward flirting with Draco during class when Ron and Harry were there witnessing her every move.

"Alright." She said smirking back at him.

Hermione slowly leaned in feeling his warm breath on her face. She lifted her thumb up to feel his cheek; her other fingers finding a way to curl into his bleach blonde hair. His sight turning pitch black as his eyelids wept down covering every centimetre of his eyeballs. She leaned in as far as she could; pressing her body against his. She could feel the suspense building up from inside Draco's body at her very fingertips. A smile sneaked upon her face as she stared at his now closed eyes. She knew she was being such a tease. Her other arm sneaked around his waist quickly snatching the book away from his hands. She broke her contact with Draco's skin taking her belongings as fast as she could giving him another wink when his eyes opened. Hermione ran across the library watching Draco standing there stunned like he was at the Teashop. _She smiled to herself leaving the room; teasing Draco was starting to become amusing to her._

* * *

><p>The Gryffindor Common Room was quiet; the only sounds being heard were the sparks flying from the fireplace. Hermione walked her way over to the red velvet couch a book on dragons in her right hand and Ginny's guide in her other as she slumped down making herself comfy. Ginny told her to make a tick beside each rule she applied to every encounter she had with Draco for the past week and write an entry on how well it worked. So far there were 12 entries, but Hermione wasn't sure if in class encounters would count. Most of her buddies were at Diagon Alley buying confectionaries at Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, so no one would be bothering her for a while.<p>

"Ahh… finally some time to relax." She whispered to herself throwing Ginny's guide onto the floor. She didn't want to spend all of her time focusing on bringing down Draco. She wanted to help Harry too with the Tri-Wizard tournament. Besides, Draco should still be bewildered from their most recent meet in the library. A breath of air left her mouth as she opened the book.

Her eyes widened a little seeing a piece of parchment paper being attached to the front page. It read:

_Hey Granger ;), I have a feeling that you'll try to escape from me when I give this book to you. As clever as I am, I've already thought of a way for you to make it up to me. Meet me at The West Wing 9pm tonight, unless you are scared of breaking curfew. I'll be waiting for you. ;) Don't be late._

_Yours Truly, Draco Malfoy_

_Hermione smiled at the note. All she COULD do was smile at the note. Draco WAS pretty clever…_


	6. Chapter 6: Krum

**Chapter 6: Krum  
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**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r **

A creaking noise startled Hermione as she tiptoed down the staircase using her wand to ignite light to guide her way through.

"Be careful." Ginny whispered.

Lavender and Parvati were standing behind Ginny trying to hold in their giggles. They were pretty excited to hear that Hermione was going to sneak out to meet Draco.

"Remember to be back before 11." Parvati whispered out loud. "We can only cover for you for so long."

Hermione turned her head, giving them a smile. "I know." She whispered back before heading out of the Gryffindor Wing.

* * *

><p>Hermione stood outside wrapping her knitted Gryffindor scarf tightly around her neck, her cheek's turning bright red from the coldness. She crossed her arms over her chest trying to keep as warm as possible while watching the moon shine its light on the snow. She's been waiting outside for about 14 minutes now thinking that she'd be safer outside than in. It was freezing outside and she was now wishing that she'd stay inside instead.<p>

Hermione exhaled watching her warm breath disappear into the distance. She stepped back wiggling her toes in her boots making sure that they were still alive. A few seconds later she felt someone pulling her back grabbing her by her waist while smothering her mouth with a leather glove.

"Did I scare you?" Draco smirked.

"Not funny." She said hitting his arm. "I thought you were a murderer or something."

He started to laugh while Hermione stared at him. She was still a bit scared about what he just did. Draco looked back at her meeting her pouty eyes, his laughs fading away. Hermione felt her heart flutter as he leaned in closer wrapping his arms around her tighter. She just realized that Draco never let go of her when she got pulled back. She could feel her heart pounding through her chest beating faster each second he came closer, finally touching his nose against her numb one. This feeling in her chest, she had no clue why it was being like this. A forced gulp made its way down her throat wondering why she was feeling this way. _Maybe it was because she never had her first kiss yet. Draco could be it…_

Hermione quickly snapped back to reality realizing that she didn't want her first kiss to be a fake one. She wanted it to be real with someone she truly loved. Not to be wasted on someone who was just a part of a scheme.

"So… Why were you late?" Hermione whispered softly pulling Draco out of his daze.

He leaned back letting go of her clearing his throat. "Sorry… It was hard getting pass the prefects."

"Oh…" Hermione replied sort of wishing that he never let go of her. "So… Why did you ask me to come out late?"

"I kind of just wanted to hang out with you…"

"Okay." Hermione said surprised. "You must be used to sneaking out all the time right?"

Draco looked down fiddling with the snow between his boots. "To be honest… This is the first time I've ever snuck out to meet a girl."

"You're joking right?" Hermione laughed. "You don't need to lie to me. I hear all the news being spread around the school."

Draco leaned against the wall a sigh leaving his mouth. "Everyone exaggerates…"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow. She was quite curious to hear what he had to say.

"My lips accidentally crashed into Pansy's on our first year when I caught her from falling down the staircase."

"I remember hearing something like that… That's how you got you're so called 'amazing' reputation."

"But you probably heard it as 'Draco and Pansy: The most passionate couple ever'."

"Something like that…"

"After a while, people expect you to do more… You get used to having a million fake kisses with other people."

Hermione stared at the Slytherin boy in front of her remembering the sixth rule that Ginny added to the diary. _Rule 6: Don't trust his words._ Maybe because of his cheesy pickup lines that he'd throw at her at the beginning of the school year, he had to try to get to Hermione from a different angle. He was a Slytherin after all. They were pretty sly and duplicitous. She had to act like she believed in every word he said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not very sure." Draco replied looking up to meet Hermione's eyes again. "You seem different Gran- … Hermione." A smile crept upon his face.

Hermione smiled back at him a little stunned and quite satisfied to hear that he actually called her by her first name. She stared at him wondering what he was thinking. He seemed to be deep in thought. He couldn't be lying to her, could he? That look in his eyes looked pretty convincing to her. She realized that maybe there was more than just a cocky shallow side to him. _Draco Malfoy actually had a soft side._

Draco lifted his wrist to check his watch. "It's 10:25… We should go back in. I don't want us freezing to death, and it will take me awhile to sneak back pass the prefects."

"Yeah…" Hermione said softly walking towards the door.

Draco grabbed her arm pulling her back against him. "Thanks." He whispered leaning in to kiss her forehead. "We should try sneaking out when it's warmer."

Hermione agreed. _She was now considering Draco to be her first real kiss._

* * *

><p>The next day, Hermione sat at her designated spot early in the morning all eyes on her. They were all excited to hear about what they did together and if Draco was starting to have a change in heart.<p>

"What did you guys do?" Lavender asked. "Did you finally kiss him…?"

All their eyes widened in anticipation. Hermione knew for sure that Ginny was waiting for the day that they kissed. Every other girl would have kissed him on the first day, yet Hermione was there, three weeks of mingling with Draco and still nothing.

"Yeah…" Hermione lied. She didn't want to disappoint them for what felt like the millionth time. "It was wet…"

"He's good at it right?" Lavender threw out her mouth starting to salivate. _Hermione started to wonder if he was actually that good. What was good anyway? _

"Yeah Lavender… He was really good. I thought you were just exaggerating." Hermione laughed trying to convince all of them that she kissed him.

All the girls started to whisper around her as Hermione went deep in thought. Last night, she couldn't sleep. She was feeling these knots in her stomach and was actually starting to consider wanting to kiss Draco. Even at this very moment she was still contemplating whether or not she should. She had no clue why she lied to them in the first place. All they did was talk. Why couldn't she just say that? It's not like they would be disappointed to hear that she didn't… They were probably used to Hermione letting them down each day with a 'No we didn't kiss' answer. Besides, she didn't want to kiss him in the middle of a classroom with all their classmates watching them. That would be uncomfortable.

"You coming?" Ginny asked holding her herbology textbook and a few pieces of parchment paper in her arms.

All of the other girls around the table started to pick up their books and belongings while tucking their chairs back into the table.

"Where?" Hermione asked snapping breaking away from her thoughts.

"The bell just rang..." Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You're usually the one too notice it."

"Oh… Yeah, sorry… I'm just a bit tired from the lack of sleep I had last night."

"Okay." Ginny said giggling with the others before walking away with them. "I'll see you in class."

Hermione turned to look at Lavender still putting on her robe. The little confession Draco made last night of him not even having a real conversation with a girl before made her curious. He was with Lavender for the whole summer, probably because he didn't have enough choices around him to choose from, but would they really be snogging just for the whole season? Did Lavender lose her virginity to him? A whole bunch of questions were popping into Hermione's head. "Hey Lavender… Can I ask a question?"

"Sure." She replied whistling a tune out of her mouth.

"Have you ever talked with Draco? Like have an actual conversation."

Lavender stopped whistling to think. "No… When you think about it, it was mostly snogging or just running around the fields… We could have kissed for hours though." Lavender paused trying to think a bit harder. "When we talked it was mostly him telling me about the great adventures he's been on, but nothing too personal."

"Okay…" Hermione replied feeling a sense of relief.

"Why do you ask Hermione?"

"Nothing really… Just wanted to compare to see if I was making any progress or not…"

Lavender leaned in close to Hermione cupping her hand around her mouth and started to whisper into her ear. "To be honest… When you break his heart, I want to be the one to sweep him back onto his feet."

Lavender stood back up giving Hermione a smile. She twirled around the room humming to herself as she made her way out the door.

Hermione sat there for a moment speculating if she was actually the first girl to hear about Draco's sensitive side. Lavender was one girl who didn't have a personal conversation with Draco, but he probably had with some other girls. The knots in her stomach tightened. She was dying to know about his past relationships with every girl and the fact that Lavender still liked him made it even worse.

Hermione lifted her wrist to look at her watch. Seven more minutes until she was officially redeemed late. She then stood up from her seat tucking her chair in looking up to see Viktor Krum in front of her. Her eyes widened wondering why a hunk like him wanted to talk to her.

"Do you have a second?" He asked nicely helping her gather the textbooks being spread around the table.

"Sure." She replied. "But you have to make it quick; I don't want to be late for class." Hermione pointed at the clock.

Viktor gave her a sweet smile. "Don't worry it will only take a second."

"Okay… How may I help you?"

"I know we don't really know each other, but would you by any chance like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Hermione smiled at Viktor seeing someone behind him at the corner of her eye. She took a quick glance behind him to see Pansy Parkinson glaring at her. Pansy stormed out of the room as soon as she saw Hermione staring back. There was something wrong with that girl…


	7. Chapter 7: Beside the Flutterby Bush

**Chapter 7: Beside the Flutterby Bush**

**D r a c o M a l f o y**

"Draco Malfoy! You come out this instant!" Pansy yelled knocking on Draco's door brutally.

His sweet dreams had to be interrupted in such a malevolent way to be bothered by such a trivial person. Draco attempted to raise his head from his silky pillow making an effort to open his eyes. He took the nearest cushion beside him throwing it at Blaine Zabini.

"You go get it." He groaned almost falling back into a deep slumber.

"No way, she's your problem, not mine." Zabini groaned back hiding himself under his quilted blanket.

"If you don't open this door, I'll tell your father about you and that revolting mudblood!" Pansy threatened still banging on the door. Everyone in his dormitory practically heard what she just announced.

Draco's eyes shot wide open. How could she of known about his encounters with Hermione? Pansy's been staying at least 50 meters away from him ever since he broke up with her. He thought she was out of his life for good. She couldn't have seen them talking during class either. They didn't have many classes together, and even when they did, Hermione wasn't in any of them.

Draco stood up letting out a yawn walking towards his bedroom door. He turned the knob letting Pansy do the rest of the job by pushing the door wide open. He rubbed his left eye looking at Pansy staring at him, her cheeks turning into a cherry like blush. He forgot to put on a shirt and was pretty much only wearing a pair of Slytherin boxers.

"What?" he asked in a rude manner making her eyes break away from the context of his well-toned abs. "It's not polite to bother someone when they are sleeping."

"You break up with me to date a bloody mudblood?" She yelled. "You think your reputation will be maintained if you date her!"

A few of their Slytherin housemates crowded around them some giggling in the background.

"It's none of your business Pansy." He shrugged. "At least she's not needy like you."

The giggles turned into laughs. Pansy was a 1st class clinger. She was like a magnet sticking onto a fridge.

Pansy looked around her peers embarrassed to hear her roommates agreeing with Draco's comment. She slapped him across his face. "Well, jokes on you! I heard she fancies Viktor Krum!"

Pansy stormed out of the corridor shoving Terrence Higgs against the wall. Draco stared at Pansy as she left. He hasn't seen Hermione for the past couple days, except during class of course. He was too busy dealing with Quidditch practice. His first few classes of the day were excused just so his team could prepare for the next match against Gryffindor. Was she hanging out with Viktor Krum during that time?

Zabini walked up to him resting his elbow on Draco's shoulder. "Sucks to be you." Zabini teased. "I was just going to let you bring my sister to the Yule Ball too."

Draco shrugged Zabini's elbow off his shoulder heading back into their room closing the door behind him. He thought he was so close to capturing the heart of the mudblood; he even put up an act of being a sweetheart to get to her. Now he was losing his dare to Viktor Krum. _The one thing that confused him was why he vented to her when they snuck out after curfew. It must have been those brown eyes of hers. Each time he stared into them he had an urge to say or do things he would never do._ He's been acting a little too nice for a quite a while and it was now getting to him. Nonetheless, he had to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball before Viktor Krum did.

* * *

><p>He stood their awkwardly in the Gryffindor territory feeling the dirty stares burying deep into his soul. Whispers were being heard all around him and fingers being pointed like a pistol aiming towards his head. Draco quietly groaned looking up from time to time to see if Hermione would come into sight. He waited at the library for around an hour, but she was never there. His patience was thinning by the second when each Gryffindor boy would pass by him asking 'Why are you here Malfoy? Go back to your dungeon.' He looked back down between his shoes to avoid making eye contact with anyone passing by.<p>

"Hey there Malfoy… Are you looking for Hermione?" Ginny asked bending down to make eye contact with him. Lavender and Parvati were standing behind her greeting him with a hello. He never saw Lavender since his summer with her; he was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah… I haven't seen her in a while; I just wanted to know how she was doing…" He responded standing up straight. "Do you know where I might find her?"

"She's at Professor Sprout's Herbology room. She's been helping to prune some of the Flutterby bushes as decoration for the Yule ball."

"Oh… I see." He sighed in relief. _At least she wasn't with Viktor Krum._ "Well thanks for your help. I've been looking for her all day."

"You're Welcome." Ginny smiled.

Draco returned the smile before running down the stairs and across the 1st floor to the Herbology room. He stared through the window just to make sure that she was there. It seemed to look like she wasn't alone. _Viktor Krum was in there with her_. He stared at the two of them trying to read their lips and body language.

He started to question if he was too late as he watched Hermione give him a hug before Viktor started to head his way. Draco hid behind the door watching Viktor exit the room waiting until he turned around at the nearest corner. He then fixed his robes and stepped into the room.

"Hey Granger… I haven't seen you in a while. Did you miss me?" He said giving her a smirk.

Hermione looked up putting down the gardening pruners. "Yeah… I did miss you." She joked trying to hold in her laugh. "I felt so lonely during class when you weren't there."

He knew that she was just teasing him, but he was going to take it anyways. "Need any help?"

"No not really… This is my last bush of the day. It won't take too long… And we all know it takes you a lifetime to put on the safety clothing."

Draco laughed because he knew it was true. He stared at Hermione as she pruned her way through the bush wondering how he should bring up the Yule Ball. He didn't want to make it too obvious, but he didn't want to make it so vague either.

"Will you be attending the Yule Ball?" he asked taking a step towards her.

"Yes… It's an event I'd like to take part in."

He took a deep breath before replying. "Will you be going alone…?"

"Uhm… Viktor Krum asked me a few days ago at the library." She paused trying to remove the thickest branch on the shrub. "I mean the point of having this tournament is to meet new people right? So… I said yes."

"Oh…" Draco said disappointed.

"Yeah… I think Pansy overheard him asking me when we were at the library. She looked mad… I'm not really sure why, but she was…"

His disappointment grew hearing that Pansy knew for a while and didn't decide to confront him until today. He was still confused to as how Pansy knew more than expected. Maybe they're encounters with each other were more public than he thought.

Draco leaned in closer to see if Hermione even made a cut on the branch. Hermione squeezed the pruner as hard as she could till…

"BAM!" she elbowed Draco right on his nose.

Draco squeezed his nose backing away feeling dizzy as he fell to the floor.

"OH MY GOSH! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Hermione panicked. She ran across the room grabbing an ice pack from the first aid kit before kneeling down to place it on his nose.

"I am so sorry." She repeated pressing it against the bruise.

"It's fine…" He replied. "You punched me last year… This isn't so bad."

Hermione leaned in closer trying to inspect the damage she just created.

Draco leaned back a bit staring at her eyes; everything around him muting. He couldn't even hear her panicking anymore. Those honey like eyes looked angelic to him and his surroundings would feel so calm and serene every time he looked at them. He moved the ice pack away from his nose forgetting about the pain leaning in giving her a soft gentle kiss on the lips. Hermione stopped talking as Draco leaned in again, letting his fingers comb its way into her hair while resting his thumb on her cheek. He gave her another kiss; this time deeper and passionate than before. She tasted like a Liquorice Wand… _Draco hated Liquorice Wands, but this one he wanted to savour in his mouth forever._


	8. Chapter 8: This Time Around

**A/N: **Sorry for late update. I've been really busy with organizing my schedule for school and packing to move houses. Not only that, I've been having writers block. I really had no clue what to write. **I'm sorry if you find a lot of mistakes in this chapter. I really got to stop writing late at night. x_x''  
><strong>

**Chapter 8: This Time Around**

**D r a c o M a l f o y **

"Wow…" Goyle mumbled, sweat dripping from his forehead. "She's beautiful…"

Half of the room stared in awe surprised to see the brightest student in Hogwarts being able to turn all heads towards her tonight.

"I never knew she could dress up so well…" Zabini agreed dropping a scone to the floor.

Draco wasn't interested in Goyle's comment, until Zabini obviously agreed. Goyle and Zabini's taste in girls were way different from each other. He couldn't help, but wonder who caught their attention.

Draco turned his head dropping his glass of punch onto the floor, his jaw also falling in the direction of the shattered pieces.

There she was. _Hermione Granger_. Draco took a gulp noticing every detail from her face to her figure. He noticed her hair; it didn't look dull like it usually did. It looked extra shiny and luscious under the lighting. It was held up perfectly, not a strand sticking out. Each curl was flawless as it cascaded down her shoulder. He took a step forward watching her walk down the stairs. For the first time in his life he'd actually come to notice the figure of her body in that pink silky dress. Her feminine curves and cleavage being shown from that v neck dress made a desire creep up his spine. He wasn't feeling a sense of lust for her. He simply wanted to walk up to her and tell her how beautiful she looked tonight. At the same time he felt jealous. Half the boys in the room were staring at her just the same way he did, and to make matters worse, Viktor Krum was all hers tonight. Now he didn't want to tell her about how attractive she looked to him, he wanted to tell her to put on her robes and that such outfits should only be worn in front of him. _Most of all, he wanted to tell her that she was supposed to be his._

"Jealous?" Zabini teased behind him. "According to our dare, that's supposed to be you up there. My sister has been dying to meet you too you know. Don't make her wait too long."

Draco snapped out of his trance sitting down at his designated table realizing that Hermione was just a dare. Nothing more than a dare… He looked up taking a quick glance at Hermione as she took Viktor's hand in hers. He stared at her lips as they curved its way into that smile. That smile that Draco simply admired since the first time she smiled at him in the library. He started to think about her lips and instantly started to remember the taste of the Liquorice Wand. Draco licked his lips remembering how her hair was incredibly soft, her cheeks being insanely smooth, but most importantly how her lips fit perfectly with his. He felt himself blushing remembering her eyes…

"Are you falling in love with her?" Zabini smirked making Draco instantly remember that Zabini was trying to talk to him.

"No!" he stammered, his cheeks flushing. "I was thinking of way how to get rid of Viktor Krum…"

"Oh really now?" Zabini raised his eyebrow. "You were just blushing a few seconds ago."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were." Crabbe interrupted proving Zabini's point right.

"See. I have witnesses." Zabini laughed. "Wait… Were you having a dirty thought?" Zabini laughed louder.

"NO I WASN'T!" Draco protested standing up from his seat punching the table. A few people around them turned to see what the commotion was.

"Relax… I was just messing with you." Zabini stopped laughing. "I always mess with you; you can't be getting mad now…"

Draco sat back in his seat feeling a bit embarrassed. He wasn't mad because Zabini would always tease him. He was mad because Hermione was just a dare. He kept telling himself that she was just a dare ever since they kissed, and that he should keep his eye on the prize. Right now he wasn't so sure. As the days passed by, he started to forget that Zabini even had a sister. He kissed other girls before, but for some strange reason this one felt different to him…

For the whole night, his eyes always magically made its way onto finding Hermione amidst the crowd of students and faculty members. Along with her, he'd see Viktor Krum being attached to her right arm. He noticed that Hermione's eyes have never left Viktor Krum's for more than a minute. It angered Draco that all she saw was Krum. Even when they waltzed together, Draco felt like he could do better. At least Zabini wasn't here to tease him anymore. He was too busy having fun dancing with the others.

Draco never left a table ever since he entered the room, except for when everyone went up to dance of course. He decided to sit in the darkest corner of the room during that time.

"You seem to be quite bored sitting here all alone." Pansy Parkinson said taking a seat beside him. "It's usually you up there."

"What do you want Pansy?" Draco gritted through his teeth. "I'm not in the mood to play games with you."

"Awes. You're way hotter when you're mad." Pansy gave him a wink.

Draco rolled his eyes again. "What do you want?" he repeated.

"It seems to me that the only reason the magnificent Draco Malfoy isn't up there having a good time, is because Hermione Granger is dancing with the one and only Viktor Krum."

"So…?" Draco clenched through his teeth wondering how Pansy would know so much.

"You must be disappointed because she's your key to complete the dare."

"What's your point?" Draco asked watching her stare at her fingernails.

"Let's make a deal."

Draco's eyebrows rose up questioning her words.

"I can help you win Hermione on one condition…"

"What?"

"When you finally win Zabini's sister, I get to humiliate Hermione so bad that she's not just heartbroken. She wishes she never entered this school." Pansy smirked. "I know this is something you'd like to do to finally get rid of that disgusting mudblood."

* * *

><p><strong>H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r<strong>

Hermione laughed along with Viktor Krum on the dance floor as he took her hand in his to give her a twirl. She never felt so calm in her life ever since they came back to attend their 4th year at Hogwarts. She felt that meeting Viktor Krum was one of the best things that happened to her. He was such a good friend to her, and gave her so much advice on how to deal with her Draco situation.

Hermione laughed a little harder feeling dizzy from all the twirls. Viktor let go of her hands letting her fall into his arms. She looked at him giving him a smile. "Thank you, but no more twirls please. I'm going to feel queasy."

"Sorry." He replied. "I thought you liked them."

"I do. Maybe not ten in a row though."

The two laughed more dancing beside each other.

Ginny finally came along pulling Hermione out of the crowd. "Sorry Viktor!" she yelled. "It's really important girl stuff!"

"It's alright!" he yelled back too busy feeling the groove of the music.

"Hermione…" she said a serious look on her face.

"What? You said it was okay for me to go with Viktor to the Ball. You said that it would be a good thing for the plan."

"Yes I know." Ginny smiled. "I just wanted to inform you that I think its working!"

"What is?"

"Draco isn't even socializing with any of the girls around here. I think he's jealous."

Hermione felt her heart skip a beat, the speed slowly increasing.

"Parvati even saw Pansy trying to talk to him a few minutes ago. She said Draco left the room almost punching her in the face." Ginny continued. "I really think that the plan is working well!"

Hermione stared at Ginny's excitement sensing that she had something up her sleeve. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go after him."

"What? Why? What about Viktor?"

"We need to make sure that he actually likes you. Parvati and I will dance with him telling him that you had to go to the ladies room."

Hermione roamed the hallways looking around each corner of the corridors. "Draco? Draco? Draaaaaaaaco?"

She tiptoed on her high heels walking through each hallway realizing that she wasn't near the dance room anymore. The things she'd do to keep her friends happy. She walked over to The West Wing exiting the building to get some fresh air. She took another step forward until someone grabbed her by her waist pulling her towards the wall.

Hermione turned around seeing that it was Draco. "I told you to never do that again!" she whispered loudly hitting his arm.

"No one's here." He said laughing. "No need to whisper. They are all at the Yule Ball."

"Why aren't you there?"

"I can ask you the same thing."

"I never saw you on the dance floor at all… and well I saw you being angered by Pansy. I got worried." Hermione answered half-heartedly. It wasn't exactly the right answer, but it was close enough. "Now answer my question."

"Blaine and Pansy have been getting on my nerves all night." He shrugged.

"Ahh I see… being punished by your own Slytherin mates…"

"So… you were worried for me?" Draco poked her side, a look of hope on his face.

Hermione's worries have all been put on him ever since she's been noticing that Ginny's plan was actually working. She would catch Draco staring at her all the time during class, and he wasn't exactly paying attention all the time. As much as she wanted to hurt him in the beginning, now she didn't want to hurt him at all. She was pretty much doing this to make her friends happy, especially Lavender.

"I've been worried for a while…" she whispered. "You've been slacking off in class… You've been getting in trouble a lot for not paying attention… You've lost like 50 points for your house."

Hermione's eyes widened just noticing that she accidentally said her inside thoughts out loud.

"Wow Granger… I never knew you cared so much…" Draco smirked leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I was worried about you too…"

"Why?" Hermione asked looking away. She felt her cheeks turning red now.

"…Because Pansy's after you. I mean I almost hit her back at the Ball because she told me she wanted to ruin your life."

"I order you to protect me then." Hermione looked up to give him a smile. "If you fail to do so, you must sing to me in front of the whole school while wearing a unicorn costume."

Draco laughed. "Alrights… Deal, but if I succeed by the end of the year, you must spend two weeks at my Manor as my personal maid."

Hermione was just joking around and didn't think that he would take this bet seriously. Every time she was with him, Hermione found herself forgetting about the expectations her friends had from her, and always had fun joking around with him. She wanted him to win, if it involved her getting to be with Draco for another extra two weeks after the school year ends. Hermione leaned in giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Deal."


	9. Chapter 9: 3 Words, 8 Letters

**Chapter 9: 3 Words, 8 Letters**

**D r a c o M a l f o y **

"It's been forty five minutes. She must be having fun with him underwater." Zabini teased standing beside Draco.

Draco stood there patiently waiting for Hermione to emerge from the lake. He dreaded hearing that the second task involved Viktor Krum having to save Hermione from underwater. He wished he was saving her instead of him. Either way it was better eavesdropping on the teachers talking about the task instead of finding her in Viktor's arms unexpectedly.

"She is not…" Draco winced.

"It's okay. You can save my sister one day too."

Draco shot him a glare. He was too busy worrying about Hermione. It was freezing outside and the lake had to be way colder.

"Whoa… Draco passing that option, you MUST be falling in love with Hermione now."

"No!" he clenched through his teeth. "It's so cold!"

Draco knew that Blaine's statement was correct. He was falling for Hermione, or well was already in love with her. He really wanted to win the bet with her and have her stay at the manor for an extra two weeks after school. Actually, he wanted to spend the entire summer with her.

Blaine laughed staring at the shaking Slytherin boy. "Too bad Hermione isn't here to hold you."

Draco took Crabbe's cupcake from his mouth aiming it at Zabini.

"Calm down." Zabini gestured holding his arms up in front of him. "This dare is making you crazy."

Zabini was right again. This dare was making him go crazy.

"And here's Viktor Krum with Hermione Granger!" Lee Jordan announced.

Draco looked up finding Viktor Krum holding onto Hermione's arm as they made their way onto the stands. He tried to walk through the crowd over to Hermione. When no one was looking, he grabbed her wrist taking her to the nearest boat beside them.

"Malfoy." She smiled wrapping the towel tightly around her. "Did you miss me?"

He sat beside her on one side of the boat placing his hat on top of her head while wrapping his Slytherin scarf around her.

"Are you okay? Are you cold?" He had no clue what he was saying. He never even knew that he was capable of asking such things. "Did HE hurt you?"

"I'm fine thank you and no he did not hurt me" Hermione laughed. You don't have to lend me your things."

"Y-Y-Ye-Yeah I-I know…" Draco stuttered. He was overwhelmed with emotions right now hearing that she was okay.

"Are YOU okay?" she asked resting her head on his shoulder.

Draco felt his heart pounding through his chest taking in the smell of Hermione's hair. Even if she was underwater for an hour or two, it still smelled like berries. He wanted to tell her that he loved her for quite a while now, but wasn't so sure when to utter such a strong word. He never said "I love you" to a girl before. He only heard girls say it to him. His arms sneaked its way around Hermione's body holding her closely to keep her warm. He kissed her forehead before resting his head against hers.

"I love you Hermione." He whispered hoping that she wouldn't hear.

Hermione lifted her head up to stare at him. He gulped anticipating for a reply staring back into her eyes noticing that he actually called her by her first name. This time he said it with meaning too. He could feel his heart beating throughout his whole body now. He was pretty sure that Hermione was feeling it too.

"I love you too Draco." She whispered back.

Draco didn't care if Zabini or any of his Slytherin mates witnessed what just happened. He didn't care if Zabini was now going to prove that he actually had fallen in love with her. At this very moment he wanted to kiss her. Kiss her as passionately as he could even if they were right there in the open.

Draco leaned in, his lips being pressed against hers. He wrapped her tighter in his arms as their lips moved at a perfect pace. His tongue peeked out of his mouth licking Hermione's lips begging for her to let him in. Hermione widened her mouth a little allowing Draco to feel his tongue against hers. He licked her tongue slowly pushing it down her mouth savouring the taste of his beloved Gryffindor. A hand made its way down to her leg rubbing up and down her thigh which caused Hermione to let out a quiet moan.

Hermione leaned back detaching her lips from Draco gasping for air.

"I'm sorry…" He said. "Was that too much?"

Hermione stared at him giving him a smile. "It was perfect… I just don't feel comfortable doing it in public."

Draco sighed in relief. "Then we won't snog like this in public okay?"

"Okay." She said kissing his cheek leaning in to whisper something into his ear. "Maybe we can go somewhere private later."

Draco felt a tingling sensation around his body hearing Hermione request such a thing as she gave him a wink. He couldn't help but agree while giving her a smirk.


	10. Chapter 10: Hermione Granger: Strike One

**Chapter 10: Hermione Granger: Strike One**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r**

Hermione ran down the stairs laughing in joy trying her best to outrun Draco. During a class of Divination, Harry and Ron were not allowing her to sit with them until she told them what was going on. She couldn't break her promise to the girls, so she decided to sit beside Draco. During that time, Draco accidentally dropped an embarrassing picture of him when he was a child, but Hermione had a hard time looking at it when Draco was there slapping his hands at her. If she was able to outrun him, she'd be able to look at the picture.

"Come back here Granger!" Draco yelled out almost tripping down the stairs. "It's not polite to take things that aren't yours!"

"Not a chance!" Hermione shouted.

"I'm getting tired!"

"That's your fault! Not mine!"

Hermione ran out the courtyard stopping in the middle of the field. She flipped the card over seeing a picture of a twelve year old Draco dressed in woman's clothing. He even had make-up and matching accessories. Hermione laughed loudly finding the picture pretty hysterical not caring one bit that people were staring at her.

Draco finally caught up snatching the picture out of her hands.

"Malfoy dressed up as a girl." Hermione said while laughing. "What was your name? Drakira? Draca?"

Draco grimaced, "It's so embarrassing. I should have burned it a long time ago."

"No you should keep it! It would make good memories."

"For you maybe... Pansy found it disturbing when I dropped it once. She said it's only cute if I was five years old. Not twelve! Luckily Blaine wasn't there at that moment."

"Awes, I find it adorable." Hermione's laughs started to simmer down.

"You don't need to lie."

"No really. It's cute. Even the so called "Magnificent Draco Malfoy" needs embarrassing moments in his life."

Hermione gave him a sincere smile meeting his eyes as Draco slid his hand across her waist and around the other side. She tiptoed to give him a quick kiss on the lips. Hermione was no longer feeling sad about losing her first kiss to him. She wanted his kisses now, and one of the things she liked about it was how he knew when to kiss her. He respected her "Only pecks in public" rule.

"I see the lovebirds are doing well." Blaine commented walking towards them. "Who knew a Gryffindor and Slytherin would get together."

Hermione turned to look at Blaine giving him a smile. This was the first time she actually came this close to him. "Hey."

Draco turned to look at Blaine, his hand losing contact with Hermione's waist. "Yeah we're doing great." Draco replied uncomfortably intertwining his hand with Hermione.

"I have to talk to you later Draco. It's important, unless you guys have plans later on tonight." Zabini winked at Draco a smirk being placed upon his face.

Hermione stared at Zabini wondering what he meant. Now she knew why Draco would get irritated by him. He was sort of like Ginny except way worse. She turned her head looking around finding Ginny behind a bush waving at Hermione to come over.

"Meet me at the library now!" Ginny mouthed behind the bush.

Hermione turned back to look at Blaine still teasing Draco and Draco already getting annoyed. She felt bad for having to leave him like this, but Ginny looked like the news was urgent. "You guys can talk now if you want." Hermione interrupted. "I really don't mind. I have to speak to Ginny anyways."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked meeting her eyes again.

"Yes. It's fine. I'll just see you later on tonight okay? Send me a letter or something."

"Okay… 9pm. You remember where yeah?"

She leaned in giving Draco a kiss on his cheek. "Yes I do…, Love you."

"Love you too…" Draco mumbled.

Hermione turned to look at Blaine. "It's nice… seeing you up close…"

She then scurried along to Ginny who grabbed her wrist as they started to run back into the building.

"Bad news…"

"What do you mean bad news?"

Ginny squeezed her wrist tighter as they ran through the halls nearing the library. "I'll tell you when I get there."

"Okay…"

The two girls continued running until they reached there rendezvous. Hermione stood there trying to catch her breath as she stared at Lavender who was sobbing on the floor, Padma trying to comfort her. "What happened?" Hermione finally asked.

"She was a bit angry." Cho Chang said sympathetically. "She couldn't handle seeing you and Draco being a happy couple…"

"What do you mean?" Hermione raised an eyebrow sitting down across from Cho.

"Well… we were all here after our classes ended… Padma and I started to talk discreetly about all the progress you made and how good you were doing. We then started to joke about what would happen if you actually fell for Draco…"

"Lavender never told us that she still had feelings for him…" Padma interrupted gently patting Lavender's back. "She snapped and started to blurt out how you wouldn't even have got to know him without our help."

"No one heard right?" Hermione asked biting on her thumbnail.

All of them looked down an uncomfortable presence spreading between the girls. Hermione turned seeing Ginny looking down too. "Who heard it…?" She whispered.

"Pansy Parkinson…" Cho Chang mumbled.

Out of all the people in the school, it had to be Pansy Parkinson who heard about their plan. Hermione felt scared, she didn't want it to end this way with Draco. She wanted to tell him herself and face the consequences that way… Although she couldn't do that now, because Pansy would obviously do it for her.

"I'm so sorry..." Lavender sobbed loudly. "I shouldn't have gotten jealous. I mean I know that you don't love him at all. You would never fall for Draco right?"

Hermione's eyes widened not very sure how to reply to Lavender's question. She didn't want to lie to them anymore. No one even knew about the secret meeting's she's been having with him ever since the spring season kicked in. They didn't even know about the time she got intimate with Draco on the boat during the second task.

"We don't have time to talk about feelings." Ginny interrupted. "Harry and Ron snapped too. They have captured Parvati in their room trying to make her spill out what's going on. They won't let anyone in or out of that dorm. Not even their roommates. They've gone mad."

"Let me tell them…" Hermione gritted through her teeth. She had so much to deal with at the moment.

"You can't trust them… I know you can trust Harry, but Ron has a big mouth at times…"

"They're my best friends too Ginny. I need too. I should of since the beginning."

* * *

><p>"Let me in!" Neville yelled banging on the door. "It's not right to hold the door close on your roommates!"<p>

"No! Not till were done in here!" Ron yelled out.

"Professor McGonagall won't like this!" Seamus Finnigan yelled back.

Hermione stomped her way into the room Ginny and Cho behind taking out her wand.

"What are you doing?" Neville asked. "Don't explode our dormitory!"

"Alohamora!" Hermione said pointing her wand against the doorknob.

The door magically opened in seconds. Ron stared at the door as Hermione came into the room.

"I knew we should have sealed the room with magic…" Ron said to Harry.

"We don't know that many spell's Ron…" Harry whispered.

"Let her go." Hermione demanded. "I'll tell you what's been going on…"


	11. Chapter 11: Hermione Granger: Strike Two

**A/N: wooww, I've just noticed that my Microsoft has been auto correcting Blaise's name into Blaine. LOOLL whatta fail.  
><strong>

**Chapter 11: Hermione Granger: Strike Two**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r**

After three hours of explaining to Harry and Ron, she was now able to sit with them comfortably for the rest of the school year.

"Draco IS dimwitted." Ron said relieved. "If he needs someone to teach him a lesson, I guess it's you."

Harry chuckled in agreement. "May I ask though; why didn't you tell us 'Mione? You can trust us with a lot of things."

Hermione pointed at Ginny. "She wouldn't allow it."

"We can trust YOU Harry. Not Ron." Ginny scowled.

"I'm your brother! How can you not trust me?"

"That is EXACTLY why I cannot trust you. You're my brother."

Ron scowled giving Ginny a glare while the rest of them started to laugh.

"Well I must go. Professor Moody wants to see me." Harry said standing up from his seat.

"Me too." Cho said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

"Okay, see you later and good luck Harry." Hermione waved as they left the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Does this mean Harry and I can join your meetings in the library?" Ron asked dumbfounded.

Ginny glared at him signalling him to leave.

"Fine I'll leave…" Ron took his things and started to head out the door. "Mum did a bad job raising you."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she slouched down on the couch. "You're hiding something." She suspected.

Hermione's eyes widened hearing such a thing. "W-What do you mean…? She stuttered.

"You tell me."

Hermione was surprised. Ginny apparently knew more about her than she thought. She couldn't bottle in her feelings for Draco anymore. At times she felt like she was going to explode not being able to tell them how she actually felt for him. Ginny was her best mate who understood her feminine side the most, she had to tell her one day. "What if I told you I did fall for Draco…?" She finally said.

Ginny laughed. "It's not like you did right? You would never go for him."

Hermione turned to look away avoiding making eye contact with her.

"Oh my God. You fell for him, didn't you?" Ginny gasped.

"I didn't mean too…" Hermione paused. "Every time I'm with him… I feel happy. Like really happy. When I'm not, I crave for his hugs and kisses… just to be beside him…"

"You lying _bitch_!"

Hermione and Ginny turned around finding Lavender and Parvati standing behind them.

"Draco was right! You mudblood's are fucking traitors!" Lavender screamed. "I should have never trusted you with this plan! You knew before everyone else that I still loved him!"

Hermione stood up to look at her flabbergasted and a bit hurt to hear that Lavender just called her a mudblood. The only people to call her a mudblood would be considered a Slytherin. She took a few steps forward to Lavender. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean too…"

"No! Pansy was right! You guys have been having secret meetings too haven't you?"

Again; why did it have to be Pansy? How was Pansy even figuring out everything? A forced gulp made its way down Hermione's throat. "…Yeah we did, but-"

Lavender interrupted Hermione slapping her right across her face. "_Stupid mudblood_…" she retorted before storming out the room.

Hermione lifted her palm to her cheek feeling the stinging pain on her face; a tear streaming down her cheekbone. All of them were stunned seeing one of the sweetest girls on campus have a feisty side. Hermione clenched her fist running out the door to find Lavender.

"Wait! Hermione come back!" She heard Ginny call out for her. It was too late for her to go back. She needed her friend. She needed to explain herself to Lavender.

Losing a friend this way was something she didn't want at all. She turned a corner seeing that Lavender has accidentally dropped something on the floor.

Her jaw dropped picking up the card's seeing pictures of her and Draco getting intimate with each other during their secret meetings. She clenched her fist tighter than before creating a cut on her palm from her fingernails. Who would be disgusting enough to take pictures of her and Draco…? More tears streamed down her face.

Seconds later someone grabbed her smothering her mouth with masking tape as she tried to yell for help. She felt someone dragging her into a dark room grasping her hands together tightly, so she wouldn't be able to move.

As the light switch flickered on, Hermione found herself in Snape's supply room of potions with Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Lavender.

"Good job Lavender. You would have made a perfect Slytherin." Pansy smirked. "You may go now."

Hermione groaned struggling to free her way out of Goyle's tight grip on her hands. She stared at Lavender helplessly. Lavender glared at her leaving the room.

"_It's simple mudblood… All you have to do is follow me to the library and watch a little show with me._ You won't get hurt at all. Just behave…" Pansy smirked again. She really was the female version of Draco.

Hermione stared at her, more tears bottling up at her eyelids. She had to do what Pansy wanted her to do. Although, she could feel that it was something bad…


	12. Chapter 12: Hermione Granger: Strike 3

**Chapter 12: Hermione Granger: Strike Three, You're out…**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r**

"Stop struggling mudblood… You're not going to be able to see what's going on" Pansy rolled her eyes. "I can't believe Draco had enough guts to kiss you… Luckily it wasn't real."

Hermione kept squirming, stopping a little wondering what she meant. It wasn't real? What did that mean?

"Now be quiet or you'll ruin everything."

Hermione stood there quietly behind the bookshelves seeing Blaise and Draco having a conversation. She could feel her wrists burning from Crabbe gripping on it way too hard.

"I'm impressed Draco… I'm convinced that you actually got her to fall for you…" Blaise said.

"Yeah… So?" Draco replied looking at the wooden floor.

"This Friday I am allowing you to take my sister Angel to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop at 6pm. Don't be late."

Hermione watched a bit confused. Blaise was making Draco take his sister out to the Teashop? She continued watching as Draco gave him a nod.

Blaise laughed. "Too think that you would actually fall for Hermione… That's funny. For a second I thought you actually fell in love with her… I never knew you would accept my dare and stoop this low to actually get a date with my sister. You're the man… seriously… You never fell in love with her right?"

"No…" Draco mumbled.

"C'mon. Not even a little?"

"No… I never fell in love with that revolting mudblood…"

Hermione broke free from Crabbe's hands placing them upon her mouth. She couldn't believe it… She was all a dare, a stupid bet just for Draco to get a date with Blaise's sister… Her tears were falling down her face uncontrollably now.

She turned around seeing Pansy laughing right in her face. "See Granger? You're just a stupid, disgusting mudblood…"

Hermione stared at Pansy, not being able to stand up for herself. She ran out the door running through the halls making her way to the nearest washroom feeling her knees tremble down to her feet.

"Hermione!" Luna called out, Ginny, Padma, Parvati, and Cho racing to catch up. "What happened? Where are you going?"

She ran faster not wanting her best mates too see her. She finally made it to the washroom breaking down into the first stall she reached. She cried loudly gasping for air, her sleeves being drenched with her salty tears. She couldn't believe it. Not only did she lose a friend, she forgot who Draco really was, the worse Slytherin of them all. Hermione brought her knees up to her chest folding her arms over them bending her head down to release more tears. How can she lose so much in one day? Her under eyes were now stinging from rubbing them too much, and she still had to meet Draco in seventeen minutes. She felt so stupid letting herself fall in love with him. It angered her more how, how many times she let him kiss her.

"Hermione?" Ginny called out gently knocking on her door. "Are you okay?"

Hermione swallowed engulfing a handful of tears down her throat. She tried to control her breathing to speak. "You were right Ginny… I shouldn't have trusted him or believed in his words…" Hermione attempted to say choking on her words.

"What happened?"

"I was a dare Ginny…" Hermione said being able to hold back the tears to say what she wanted clearly.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Blaise dared Draco to get me to fall in love with him, so he could go on a date with his sister…"

"That ferret…" Ginny replied angrily. "How do you know this?"

"Lavender lead me straight to Pansy…"

"Whatta bitch…"

Hermione got up on her knees opening the door to her friends. Ginny bent down giving her a hug causing Hermione to explode into a million tears again. "I have to meet him in 5 minutes… What do I do?"

Ginny looked at her helping to rub the tears away from his face. "You need to go to him and break it off. He'd suspect something's wrong if you don't meet him."

"It's not like he'd care."

"But still… It's the only way to end this plan. Then you can avoid him forever."


	13. Chapter 13: Crash and Burn

**Chapter 13: Crash and Burn**

**D r a c o M a l f o y**

_Blaise laughed. "Too think that you would actually fall for Hermione… That's funny. For a second I thought you actually fell in love with her… I never knew you would accept my dare and stoop this low to actually get a date with my sister. You're the man… seriously… You never fell in love with her right?"_

_"No…" Draco mumbled clenching his fists under his robes. He didn't want Blaise to get the best of him, but he didn't want to go out on a date with his sister anymore either. He in fact did fall head over heels for Hermione Jean Granger. Although; he had to lie to avoid being Blaise's puppet for the rest of his life._

_"C'mon. Not even a little?"_

_"No… I never fell in love with that revolting mudblood…" It was the only words he could reply with._

* * *

><p>Draco stood there at his secret rendezvous waiting for Hermione, Blaise's foul words replaying over and over again into his head. He needed to tell Hermione the truth, or simply make up an excuse to not go out with Angel to end this dare once and for all.<p>

He looked seeing Hermione, her hair all disheveled and her eyes looking like she hasn't slept in months. "Hermione… Who did this too you…? He came close to her attempting to give her a hug, but failed as she shoved him to the wall. He stared at her placing his hand upon his chest where Hermione used such a force on him. He gulped seeing her eyes being bottled up with tears till they finally burst out to stream down her face. "Hermione…"He's never seen her so hurt in his entire life.

"No!" she yelled. "It's over!" Hermione turned around to run back into the school.

He chased after her pulling her to his chest as she once again shoved him off to the side.

"Get the fuck away from me!" she screamed from the top of her lungs. "I was a fucking dare Malfoy! A stupid fucking dare! Go get what you really want!"

His whole world suddenly started to tumble down right in front of him. She figured out what was going on… How did she figure out everything…?

"I heard you! I heard you at the library! You don't love me at all!" She screamed through her loud sobs.

"No you don't understand… I-" He tried, choking on his words. He bit his lips as sweat ran down his forehead, his eyes beginning to moisten.

"No! Well guess what! You were part of a fucking plan too. To teach you how badly you treat girls! I guess there's no getting too you!"

He was a dare too? She had to be lying; she had to be saying that just to make her feel a bit better. Even if he was a plan, he didn't really care about that at this very moment. He just wanted to hold her, grasp her in his arms and tell her everything will be fine. "No… I love you…" he tried helplessly. "Let me explain…"

"Forget it!"

He watched Hermione as she ran through the halls her figure dissipating right in front of him. Everything around him all of a sudden turned into a blur. He walked over to the nearest bench, his elbows falling on his knees as he grasps his head in the palm of his hands. A few tears dropping from his eyelids and onto the linoleum floor. What just happened? He thought.

"Aren't you happy? ... She's gone. You get Angel… And that filthy Gryffindor girl crying like a little baby is a bonus."

Draco turned his head seeing Pansy sitting right beside him filing her fingernails.

"We have to get rid of Lavender now though. She only joined us for a while because she was thinking that she'd win you in the end." Pansy laughed. "As if."

"What did you do?" He asked staring at her, his eyes filling up with rage.

"I was helping you get what you want." She pointed out. "She wouldn't have known about your dare if I haven't brought her to the library."

Draco stood up tall staring down on Pansy. Everything went wrong because of her… He should have known that she'd try to meddle since the beginning. He grabbed onto her collar slamming her against the wall then took her filer out of her hands snapping it into pieces letting it fall to the floor. "I told you not too butt into my personal business…"

"I was only hel-"

Draco snapped, "I don't need your help! I never needed your help! No one likes you Pansy. You're a bitch who has no real friends! What makes you think that I'd ever go for you?"

Pansy looked at him scared. "I thought you wanted Angel… Why so mad?"

Draco set her down letting her fall to the floor. He started to walk away from her letting her rot there in the corner. There was no need to explain something to someone who meant nothing to him.

He heard Pansy laugh behind him. "Oh my God. You love her. You love that mudblood…"

Draco clenched his fist tightly. He was tired of Pansy's awful laugh. He grabbed his wand out of his pocket spinning around to point it right at her. "Furnunculus!"

Pansy stopped to exasperate. She felt her whole face feeling that it was covered in boils. "Ahh.. Ahh… WHAT DID YOU DO!" she yelled.

Draco jeered turning the corner seeing Ron and Harry heading his way. He hid behind the wall waiting for them to pass by.

"At least it was just a plan." Harry said. "I actually thought she liked him."

"Me too… It's nice hearing that she doesn't." Ron replied.

Draco looked at their backs as they turned for the next hallway.

"Hypocrite." He grimaced to himself. "I guess her plan was real…"


	14. Chapter 14: Acceptance

**Chapter 14: Acceptance**

**D r a c o M a l f o y  
><strong>

Draco sat there across from Angel listening to her stories of how she traveled the world in search of ancient ruins. No one wonder why she had to postpone the date for another few weeks, she lived such a busy life. They've only been in the store for around seven minutes and she has already shared three different voyages. He did find her life pretty glamorous and dazzling hearing about all the adventures she had. She looked way beautiful than he can remember.

Her long, straight, brown luscious hair flowed down just a little pass her breasts and she had one of the most beautiful tans Draco did enjoy. She had beautiful round hazelnut eyes and Draco did notice she went from a B-Cup to a C-Cup. Even her teeth were pearl whites and that smile of hers was just simply intriguing as her cheekbones would be shown perfectly. Those dimples of hers were placed in the right spot too. No one would dare notice that she was Blaise's sister.

Even if he had, supposedly the most beautiful girl sitting there in front of him, he couldn't help but think that she came second to Hermione. She wasn't even as close to being as beautiful as Hermione. No one was. Maybe Hermione didn't live such an astounding life and that she didn't take care of her skin as much as Angel did, but he just couldn't stop thinking about her. Draco thought seeing Angel would help him eliminate his feelings for Hermione, but they didn't… He hasn't seen or talked to her for the past three weeks, and even when he thought he did see her, she'd disappear in an instant as soon as he would turn his head for a mere second.

Draco heard the door chime signalling that someone just entered the store.

"You're funny." A voice sounded happily.

Draco turned his head seeing Hermione happily flirting with the one and only Viktor Krum. He was happy seeing her smile, but a bit jealous seeing her with him. Why couldn't it be Ron and Harry instead? He watched as Viktor passed his table, Hermione following behind him holding his hand. Hermione turned, her eyes meeting Draco's. He attempted to say hello, but before he could, Hermione quickly turned away walking with Viktor to a table that was in perfect view for Draco.

"Do you know her?" Angel asked pausing from her story.

"Yeah…" He replied softly, a million memories flashing through his head.

"You want to sit with them?"

"No… I think they want to be alone."

"Alrights…" She started to continue with her memories in Egypt.

Draco eyed Hermione from time to time seeing her laugh and smile that smile. He started to remember the first time he took her out on a date to the exact same place. That shy, modest aura she was giving out to him and how she wouldn't make eye contact with him at all. He started to remember how that body language quickly changed into a bold new woman and how she took the lead. He still remembered the exact same spot where he sat with her under a tree and the very first time he was put under the spell of Hermione's honey like eyes. Draco put his hand in his pocket feeling the golden locket he wanted to give to her during their last meeting.

"You okay?" Angel asked staring at him. "You seem to be out of it… Maybe it's me, but Blaise's description of you is way different from what you're giving off."

"Sorry…" Draco mumbled staring right at Hermione.

Angel looked back finally noticing what's been catching his attention. "Oh… I get it… You like her?"

Draco blushed, a little nodding his head. He never felt so feeble in his entire life. He's been contemplating whether or not he should leave Granger alone. He had no clue if Hermione actually did fall for him from what Potter and Weasley have said that night in the hallways.

Right now, as he stared at Hermione drink her cup of tea, he finally figured out what he needed to do. He needed to prove to Hermione that he was the one for her, but before he did, he needed to tell Blaise to shove off and forget about his stupid status amongst the students. Things would be easier that way.

"I'm sorry if I end up ruining our date." Draco said. "But instead, could you help me with something else?"

"Sure what is it?" Angel raised an eyebrow.

"I need help… Blaise said you worked well with fabric. Could you possibly make something for me?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"A unicorn costume…"


	15. Chapter 15: Screw Blaise

**Chapter 15: Screw Blaise. Screw Expectations.**

**D r a c o M a l f o y**

"It's your eyes…" Draco continued writing on his piece of parchment paper while strumming a guitar not caring one bit he was doing this in the Slytherin Common Room.

"Hey Draco… Guess what?" Blaise asked sitting on the couch opposite from him.

"What?" He was too busy writing on his piece of paper.

"So my sister said she had a great time. That was good…"

Draco stopped writing, placing his pen on the notebook. He knew that Blaise definitely had something to say. "Yeah…"

"So she said you were listening to all her stories and you were being a gentleman as always…" Blaise stopped to laugh. "She then told me she took you to her small condo…"

Draco raised his eyebrow wondering where Blaise was going with this. "So… What?"

"I thought you were doing great. You know, you made it to her house on the first date…"

"…"

Blaise laughed louder. "And then she said she was making you a unicorn costume… I was like okay, whatever. Draco can be weird anyways." Blaise's face went serious in an instant. "And then she finally says 'He's wearing it to impress some girl named Hermione Granger.'"

Draco rolled his eyes knowing that something like this was going to happen. He then stood up from the couch taking his belongings with him.

"DUDE! You fell in love with Granger? That know-it-all? Why?" Blaise said angrily.

Draco turned to look at him. "Yeah I did. So what?"

"I give you my sister! MY SISTER! And you repay me by choosing Granger over her? DUDE MY SISTER WAS YOUR DREAM GIRL SINCE FOREVER!"

"Yeah well things change Blaise…"

"No. You changed! You took way too long to get Hermione! I knew I should of stopped you when you said 'I love you' to her!"

"No Blaise! I loved her longer than that! So just shut up. No one cares about you're stupid remarks!" Draco hissed turning back to leave the room.

"You're reputation is on the line!" Blaise commented behind him.

"Fuck my reputation! Fuck you!"

"Fine, but you're making the biggest mistake ever!"

Draco shrugged leaving the Slytherin wing to get some fresh air. He felt better knowing that he just told off Blaise. He always wanted to do that since he made up the rumour of him and Pansy getting together on their 1st year. _He felt like he just lifted a huge burden off his shoulders. Damn it felt really good._

He looked up finding Ginny walking his way. "Ginny…" he said giving her a nod. He really needed some help finishing up his song in a way that would suit Hermione's style. Asking her best friend could help him win back Hermione easily.

Ginny looked back at him contemplating whether or not she should turn back the other way.

"I need to ask a question…" Draco jogged over to her.

"What? If it's about Hermione…"

"It is." He interrupted. "I screwed up. I know…"

"Well she screwed up too…"

"I guess both of our sides had been plotting something…" Draco laughed.

"It was my idea to hurt you if you felt mad, so don't blame her. I pushed her into it too… and Hermione wouldn't back out if she promised someone something…"

"No. My plan was childish. Yours was actually something to teach me a lesson…" Draco looked down. "Look Ginny… I really like her. Actually I really love her, so I do need your help…"

"With what?" Ginny asked intrigued.

"I need you to help me edit this song I made for her by tomorrow…" Draco paused. "I also need you to convince her to be at The West Wing tomorrow during lunch. Invite everyone. I don't care… I just want her back…"

"Wow… You really do love her." Ginny remarked surprised. "I'll do anything to help love prevails, but she's been with Viktor Krum for the last three weeks… I'm not too sure if I could convince her to come."

Draco felt a mini dagger stab at his chest. He absolutely didn't want to lose her to Krum. "Just do it. Trick her or something. Anything. I need her to hear me out."


	16. Chapter 16: Her Unicorn Prince

**Chapter 16: Her Unicorn Prince**

**H e r m i o n e G r a n g e r **

_"I order you to protect me then." Hermione looked up to give him a smile. "If you fail to do so, you must sing to me in front of the whole school while wearing a unicorn costume."_

_Draco laughed. "Alrights… Deal, but if I succeed by the end of the year, you must spend two weeks at my Manor as my personal maid."_

_Hermione was just joking around and didn't think that he would take this bet seriously. Every time she was with him, Hermione found herself forgetting about the expectations her friends had from her, and always had fun joking around with him. She wanted him to win, if it involved her getting to be with Draco for another extra two weeks after the school year ends. Hermione leaned in giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Deal."_

* * *

><p>The day seemed to be passing by ever so slowly for Hermione. She groaned slouching down on her wooden chair trying to listen to Professor Snape's intro for their next assignment. Before her classes even started, Viktor Krum came knocking on her door confessing his so called love for her and attempted to give her a kiss. She of course rejected him as kindly as she could and told him good luck for his last task tomorrow of the Tri-Wizard tournament. Viktor Krum was only a friend to her, and because he was the only one Hermione vented to the whole time about the "wooing" Draco thing, she thought that he'd be kind enough to help her emotional scars disappear from this experience. She knew that she should have gone to Ron and Harry instead, but it would be too tiring to explain her rollercoaster of a journey to them.<p>

Hermione looked up finding Draco staring right at her. He gave her a smile and a discreet wave. She looked back down onto her textbook pretending to analyze what Professor Snape just pointed out. It didn't help that Draco was always looking at her. She was trying to get over the obnoxious Slytherin Boy, why couldn't he just let her be? He already had Blaise's sister anyways when she saw him with her at the Teashop. She was perfection. Even if Hermione wanted Draco, she couldn't compete with that.

_Ding Ding Ding_

She packed her stuff as quickly as she could, so that Draco wouldn't have a chance to go up and talk to her like he attempted to do for the last few weeks. Today was different though. He scurried out the room like a cockroach and disappeared in an instant. Maybe he finally gave up on trying to get her to look his way.

"Hermione!" Ginny called out walking over to her. "Let's skip lunch and walk around the building!"

"Why?" Hermione asked shoving her notebook into her rucksack before heading towards the door. "I'm actually hungry today…"

"Please?" Ginny whined. "It's beautiful today, and you haven't been outside for the last two weeks. You've been hiding yourself in the library or under your blankets… You definitely need fresh air."

"I'm not in the mood for fresh air." Hermione groaned walking down the staircase. "I'd rather prepare myself for Snape's potion assignment tomorrow."

"If you don't follow me, I'm going to have to be forced to use such brute powers on you." Ginny got serious.

Hermione laughed looking at her. "Oh please, you have no forces." She then turned back to continue walking forward.

"Girls… She's being stubborn, Get her." Ginny commanded.

Cho, Parvati, Padma, and Luna suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Hermione stared at them not being able to run as she was crowded by all five of them. "Why is it so important for me to get fresh air?"

"Grab her!" Cho yelled out.

In moments, Hermione found herself struggling to free herself from her friend's arms. She couldn't understand why it was so important for her to go outside. She flailed her arms around as she was being dragged on the floor. "Let go of me!" she yelled out. "It's not polite to drag people on the floor! My robes are getting dirty!"

"We wouldn't have to drag you, if you weren't being so stubborn!" Ginny scowled.

Hermione kicked her legs up hitting Parvati's knee. "Professor McGonagall won't like this!"

"Well, Professor McGonagall is not here now is she?" Ginny smirked.

Hermione finally gave up staring at all the people crowding around outside the school forgetting that she was being dragged. It was lunchtime wasn't it? Why were there people crowding around this part of the school?

"Were here!" Ginny smiled as they let go of Hermione.

She looked around wondering why everyone was laughing discreetly and pointing fingers at her. "If this is some joke to get people to tease me Ginny, I'm not going to stand for it." She retorted attempting to head back into the school.

"No… They aren't looking at you…" Ginny whispered forcing Hermione to turn around.

Her jaw dropped seeing the one and only Draco Malfoy standing before her wearing the tackiest outfit she has ever seen. She wasn't quite sure what it was exactly, but she laughed looking at his cape being draped over his shoulder covering his chest with silver and green glittery sequences. It came clear to her that he was obviously wearing an animal costume as his feet and hands were shaped like a horse's hoof. She stared at his face which was covered in silver glittery paint. He looked like he was a mascot for the Slytherin house; if their emblem was a picture of a unicorn of course.

"Granger…" he said leaning into her. "I'm glad you can make it…"

Hermione leaned back attempting to bury herself within the crowd, but wasn't allowed as Cho pushed her forward.

"Listen please?" he asked removing the hooves from his hands to pull something out from his pocket.

Hermione gave him a nod watching him take out an eight inch horn to place upon his forehead. She covered her mouth now noticing what he was. _A unicorn_. A glittering, shiny, green and silver unicorn. His Slytherin mates were definitely feeling embarrassed.

_Draco picked up his guitar and began to play._

**(A/N: That awkward moment when you're trying to write your own lyrics and then you can't… so you end up on YouTube using the first love song you see…)**

…_so many times i cry when you're away  
>Get on my knees and beg for you to stay<br>The only one I'd ever need  
>The one we've all been fighting for<br>Can't wait until the day i see your face  
>There's no limit to what I'm willing to pay<br>Just to be next to you again  
>I give you all of me and more<em>

_I know we all want to get a feel of_  
><em>That thing called love<em>  
><em>That's why my life won't be complete<em>  
><em>Until you show up<em>

_So i will be right here waiting for you  
>And whatever you say i will do<br>I will be right here waiting for you, oooh, ooh  
>So i will be right here waiting for you<br>And wherever you go, i will too  
>I'll be right here waiting for you, oooh, ooh<br>So I'll be right here waiting…_

Hermione stared at him feeling herself blush as Draco continued singing. She all of a sudden started to remember the bet they had the night of the Yule Ball. She stared at him as he finished the outro of the song. He must have been sweating in that thick suit when the sun was shining right on him outside.

Draco moved his cloak to the side letting Hermione find a huge red heart on his unicorn costume that read 'Draco Malfoy loves Hermione Granger.' Hermione giggled a little seeing such a note.

He finished, his eyes fixed right on Hermione's. He set his guitar down his eyes still on hers as he walked closer to her taking her hand in his. "I failed to protect you from Pansy…" He sighed. "I lost fair and square."

Hermione felt her whole face go red, as all the girls around them started to root for her.

"I love you Hermione… Take me back please?"

"Say yes!" Ginny squealed.

"How about Angel?" Hermione whispered. "The Teashop?"

"I asked her to help me make this suit…"

She couldn't believe that he actually took their bet seriously. Hermione felt too nervous and shy to talk at the moment. Instead she sucked her lips into her mouth and managed to give him a nod.

"So that's a yes?" He smirked.

Hermione nodded again.

Draco smiled at her kissing her cheek while taking out the locket from his pocket placing it around Hermione's neck.

Hermione felt the golden locket around her fingertips feeling the letters D.M being encrypted on the front. "A locket?" she whispered to him.

"You know…" Draco blushed. "When you miss me, you can open it…"

Hermione opened the locket finding the picture of a twelve year old Draco in woman's clothing being placed on its frame. She laughed quietly looking back up at Draco as he leaned in to kiss her lips.

Hermione backed away letting out a giggle. "Not when you're wearing silver lipstick…"

Draco gave her a smirk not taking what she said into consideration. Instead he grabbed her closer to him letting her chest fall upon his fur covered costume kissing her as passionately as he could. Hermione could feel her blood and heart beat surge throughout her whole body, feeling it at her very fingertips. _This was something she wanted, and possibly something she hoped to cherish forever…_

**A/N: .com/watch?v=fwbh5DDgqaw&feature=related , Where the lyrics came from. haha. :) Tynisha Keli - Right Here Waiting. **_  
><em>


	17. Chapter 17: Epilogue

**Chapter 17: Epilogue**

Hermione stood there beside her windowsill opening the drapes to let the bright sun shine upon her eyes. She let out a big smile opening the window to see a beautiful mowed lawn and bluebirds happily chirping away up in an oak tree. What excited her most were the sounds of water streaming down a lake and into an unknown reservoir. She couldn't wait to dip her toes into that crystal clear sea.

"You like?" Draco asked sliding his arms around her waist kissing her neck before resting his head on her shoulder.

"It's beautiful…" She whispered being dazed by the glittering view coming from the sun reflecting on the lake.

"I'm glad you like it then." He smiled giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Hermione lifted her hands to place them on top of Draco's. "Thank you…"

"For what?"

"Letting me stay here at the Malfoy vacation house for the summer…" She smiled to herself. "Although, it is scary knowing that _he_ is back and Cedric Diggory is gone…" She sighed. "And then there's Harry who had to witness it all…"

Draco exhaled. "Don't worry about it. Let's enjoy our time together…"

Hermione turned around placing her arms around his neck. She leaned in staring into his grey eyes then rubbed her nose against his before kissing his lips.

"Do I have to wear this?" Blaise whined interrupting their privacy. "I said I was sorry for being rude…"

Hermione let go of Draco laughing at Blaise being put into a female maid outfit. "I think it needs to be longer." Hermione teased. "His legs are ghastly and really hairy…"

"Yes please?" Blaise whined. "Let me cover my legs… Listen to your girlfriend."

"No." Draco said laughing. "You've been teasing me for four years now… I think we need to make you wear makeup too."

"But-"

"No but's." Draco interrupted. "You don't want me to make you talk in a female voice when you're serving my guest."

Hermione continued laughing watching Blaise feeling tortured under Draco's wrath. He was enjoying torturing Blaise a little too much.

She looked out the window again finding that Ginny and the rest of her friends have arrived. _This was going to be the best summer ever …_


End file.
